For those who are interested in participating in the nonviolent civil disobedience in the Columbus community on Saturday, here are ways that you can prepare:

Form an affinity group from your local community– Affinity groups are self-sufficient support systems of about 5 to 15 people who work together in an action. They include people willing to risk arrest and support people. See http://soaw.org/index.php?option=_content&view=article+id=644 for more on affinity groups.

You can find more information on working in groups, affinity groups, and preparing for nonviolent actions in the Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns. The Training Packet will direct you to the most helpful resources in the Handbook to help you and your group prepare for this action.

This training is for people considering engaging in the large scale city-side civil disobedience action being organized this year The agenda includes exploring what is meant by nonviolent action, an over view of the scenario, preparing to maintain our commitment to nonviolence as we interact with police, understanding our rights and the risks and consequences of nonviolent civil disobedience, including the arrest process.

**Please note that this training will be both in Spanish and English on Friday from 2-5 in the Convention Center.

**In addition to the preparation for action, there is also an introductory training session for those who are new and are not able to risk arrest.

Nonviolence training: An Introduction on Friday, November 19th at 9:30-12:30,CC201 and 2:00-5:00pm, CC207

This training is an opportunity to prepare for the SOA Watch nonviolent demonstration for people who are new to large demonstrations such as this and who have never participated in a nonviolence training. The agenda includes an exploration of what is meant by nonviolent actions, how we can prepare ourselves to maintain out commitment to nonviolence, an over view of the scenario, knowing our rights and understanding the risks and consequences of nonviolent civil disobedience.